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Our readers and viewers tend to have good ideas, so we went with a crowd-sourced challenge for this week’s episode of Window Shop. With the budget set at $200,000, the prompt was to find the best car that any given brand ever made—the epitome of the brand, if you will, although this salient point caused much debate throughout the various presentations.Miraculously, none of us picked the same brand, and our five choices included three General Motors divisions—Chevrolet, Pontiac, and Buick—plus Nissan and Lamborghini. Care to hazard a guess who picked which? Our tastes are probably getting predictable at this point, and for this episode the crew was made up of K.C. Colwell, John Pearley Huffman, Tony Quiroga, Jonathon Ramsey, and Joey Capparella.The cars themselves came from a wide range of decades including the 1980s, the 1990s, the 2000s, plus a car with a body from the 1950s but lots of newer parts underneath. This “restomod” created much consternation among our panelists about authenticity. Elsewhere, an Australian-built V-8 sedan prompted calls of hypocrisy, a V-12 supercar lead to questions about currency exchange rates, and two turbocharged V-6 coupes each incited discussions of exactly how impressive various acceleration numbers were for their time.See all this, and more, in the episode above. And please, keep the suggestions coming—we’re always looking for new ideas.

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The 2023 Subaru Crosstrek lineup adds a new trim level called the Special Edition.Along with exclusive Desert Khaki paint, it has dark gray 17-inch wheels, black body trim, and a red-and-black interior.The Special Edition is basically a $600 design package that’s available on the $27,370 Premium trim fitted with the CVT.Khaki has long been a popular color of cargo pants and military garb. It’s also the exclusive paint job for the 2023 Subaru Crosstrek Special Edition, which is a new addition to the lineup. With the unique exterior color comes black body trim (badges, door handles, grille bar, and mirror caps) as well as dark grey 17-inch wheels that are shared with the pricier Sport model.

Officially called Desert Khaki, we think the Crosstrek wears the new hue well. However, while Subaru’s marketing team would like people to think the Special Edition is an overland-oriented model, it’s pretty obvious that it’s basically just a $600 appearance package that’s reserved for Premium models equipped with the 152-hp 2.0-liter flat-four and continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). They have a starting price of $27,370; the Special Edition costs $27,970. It’s simple subtraction, folks.As such, the Crosstrek Special Edition comes with all the same equipment as the Premium trim level. This list of standard features includes heated front seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, a drive mode with hill-descent control, adaptive cruise control, and lane-keeping assist. The Special Edition also comes standard with the larger 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system that costs extra on the Premium.

Subaru

Among the special interior appointments in the new Special Edition is red-and-black cloth upholstery. Red contrast stitching also appers on myriad surfaces throughout the cabin. While Subaru didn’t release many images of the interior, you can catch a glimpse for yourself once the 2023 Crosstreks reach dealers starting this summer.
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• We chose this 1998 Chevrolet Corvette as today’s favorite Bring a Trailer auction.• It’s a particularly nice example with just 20,000 miles and a nice blue exterior color.• It’s currently bidding at just over $10,000 with six days left until the auction ends on Wednesday, June 15.Ask a group of car enthusiasts what they think about the C5 Corvette, and you’ll surely get a wide range of answers. We’re not sure exactly how this generation fits within the pantheon of Vettes, but this particularly nice example up for auction had us looking back at the C5 fondly. It’s a 1998 Corvette with the Z51 Performance package that’s finished in a beautiful shade of blue that Chevy called Nassau Blue Metallic, and it’s for sale on Bring a Trailer, which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos.

Bring a Trailer

It just so happens that a Corvette just like this one—in the same hue, no less—beat a 996-generation Porsche 911 in a comparison test from the May 1998 issue of Car and Driver. Back then, we called it a “truly great sports car” and awarded it the win largely based on its price advantage: it cost $42,959 as tested, compared to the Porsche’s $73,319. The C5 also boasted a significant power advantage, with its 5.7-liter V-8 engine producing 345 horsepower and the Porsche’s 3.4-liter flat-six making 296 hp.

We’re not sure exactly what this C5 will end up going for when the auction closes in six days, but we’d think it’ll still maintain a price advantage over equivalent 996 Porsches given what other Corvettes and other 911s have been selling for recently.

Bring a Trailer

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The 2023 Nissan Altima receives a redesigned front end as well as new wheel designs and paint colors.The Altima is also now available with a bigger 12.3-inch touchscreen with crisper graphics and wireless Apple CarPlay.Nissan expands the sedan’s roster of standard active safety features, too.Thanks to a little nipping and tucking, the Nissan Altima receives an attractive facelift for 2023. The family sedan’s front end now wears a redesigned version of Nissan’s V-motion grille, which also bears the brand’s new logo. Along with the visual updates, the 2023 Altima improves its roster of features and technology offerings.

Nissan has only shared images of the sporty SR model that, unlike other Altimas, is said to have a different grille design and black chrome trim. The rest of the lineup benefits from newly standard LED headlights, with turn signals sharing space with the daytime running lights. The car’s paint palette expands to include Gray Sky Pearl and Garnett Pearl metallic. Among the four new wheel options, which range in size from 17 to 19 inches, is a snazzy set of 15-spoke 19-inch rollers that appear on the Altima SR pictured here.
Inside, the 2023 Altima looks mostly the same except for the new finish around the gauge cluster and the new dual-stitch fabric that’s reserved for the SR trim. A larger 12.3-inch touchscreen also joins the party (an 8.0-inch unit is still standard). The bigger screen brings what looks like a prettier interface with crisper graphics and the introduction of wireless Apple CarPlay; Android Auto still requires plugging in. The upgraded infotainment system is available as an option on the SV model and is standard on the SL and SR with the optional turbocharged engine.
Nissan’s driver-assistance suite, called ProPilot Assist, is still standard on the SL and continues to be available on the SR and SV models. However, the bottom half of the Altima lineup now comes standard with active safety features that were previously optional. The list includes automatic high-beams, blind-spot monitoring, rear automated emergency braking, rear cross-traffic alert, and lane-departure warning.The 2023 Nissan Altima doesn’t get any powertrain alterations. The standard engine is still a 188-hp 2.5-liter four-cylinder, and it pairs with either front- or all-wheel drive. The 248-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder with a variable compression ratio (a.k.a. VC-Turbo) remains the more powerful option, but it’s reserved for front-wheel-drive SR models. Both engines use a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT).Nissan hasn’t yet released pricing for the 2023 Altima, but we expect that announcement to come sometime before the updated sedan goes on sale this fall. The 2022 lineup ranged from $25,925 for the base S model up to $35,625 for the top-of-the-line trim, but we don’t expect a significant uptick in price for the new model year.
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NHTSA opened up an investigation into potential “phantom braking” problems with Tesla Model 3 and Model Y EVs in February because it has heard complaints from 350 drivers about the issue.In May, NHTSA told Tesla it has now heard from over 750 people about problems with its automated emergency braking system, so it wants detailed information from the automaker.Tesla has until June 20 to respond to NHTSA’s request or face fines for not responding.Phantom braking—the strange feeling of a car’s driver assistance features applying the brakes when there’s no obstacle in the way—is not a problem limited to Tesla vehicles, but it does seem to be a bigger problem for Teslas than other models. In fact, increased reports of the problem coming in from Tesla drivers has given the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) a reason to follow up on the investigation it opened up into Tesla earlier this year.

In February, NHTSA opened an investigation into more than 400,000 2021 and 2022 model year Tesla Model 3 and Model Y electric vehicles to investigate potential problems with the EV’s automated emergency braking (AEB) systems. AEB systems obviously need to be able to brake hard when there’s a dangerous situation in the road, but more than 350 Tesla drivers reported to the NHTSA that their cars sometimes saw rapid deceleration “without warning, at random, and often repeatedly in a single drive cycle.”For example, one 2021 Tesla Model Y owner told NHTSA in October that “the car braked hard and decelerated from 80 mph to 69 mph in less than a second. The braking was so violent, my head snapped forward and I almost lost control of the car,” according to Reuters. As we noted in February, one possible explanation for problems like these could be the fact that Tesla removed radar sensors from its U.S.-bound vehicles starting in May 2021, opting for a camera-only Tesla Vision system instead.In early May, NHTSA sent Tesla a letter saying that it has since heard from over 750 Tesla owners about this issue and asked the company to answer detailed questions about these incidents. NHTSA is requiring Tesla to submit a database that includes details on each of the 758 incidents, including when the cars were built, when they had their software updated, and information on any consumer complaints, crashes or lawsuits relating to these vehicles, among dozens of other bits of information. The letter was only recently made public, and Tesla has until June 20 to answer NHTSA’s questions about this issue, and NHTSA could fine the company $24,423 a day if it does not respond. A recall could follow.Tesla, which no longer has a media relations department, did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters and has not released any statements to the public about NHTSA’s request. Previously, Tesla has said that it considers its AEB systems to be operating normally.

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• Refurbished and gorgeous, this example of a 1965 Citroën 2CV is charming its way up the rankings of most expensive 2CV ever sold on Bring a Trailer. • The car has had a lot of work done in the past five years, including interior and exterior restorations as well as powertrain maintenance. • A video showing the engine starting up shows the simple elegance of cars from a half-century ago, when Citroën could not make these little 18-horsepower cuties fast enough.I knew I loved the Citroën 2CV way before I knew what it was called. I spent some time inGermany as a child, where the car’s nickname is Ente, or duck. Obviously, a car this cute needs a cute nickname. I’ve never driven one, but I distinctly remember when I was maybe 10 and being completely mesmerized every time a friend of the family would take us for rides in hers, whipping around Spandau and waving at other Ente drivers. I didn’t understand automotive communities back then. I just thought she was friendly. In any case, I’ve got my little reasons for loving on the 2CV.

Bring a Trailer

Turns out, I’m not the only one who enjoys this little duckling, as an auction happening now on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos) proves. With three days to go, a gorgeous blue 1965 Citroën 2CV has already hit $20,000, which is certainly on the high end of 2CVs sold on BaT over the last two years. If the car can reach $26,501, it will beat out a beautiful 1989 Citroën 2CV6 Charleston, auctioned in 2021, as the most expensive 2CV ever sold on the site.

Bring a Trailer

But wherever the price ends up, the buyer can enjoy a recently redone 2CV—inside and out—complete with import documents showing that it just made the trip from Italy to Florida earlier this year. There’s a classic roll-up soft top and flip-up front window, and four seats are removable. The visual restorations took place between 2017 and 2021, and the seller conducted some powertrain work, including a refurbished carburetor and adding a new clutch and muffler, after purchasing the car in 2021.

Bring a Trailer

The tiny 2CV is powered by a historically accurate 425-cc flat-twin engine that sends its meager power to the 15-inch steel wheels using a four-speed manual transmission. The seller has posted a few short videos of the car in action. In the one showing the engine bay as the car starts up, the moving wires and pulleys are a blast of fresh, all-analog air in a world where “under the hood” now refers to the empty space of a frunk. Online bidding is at $22,215 at midweek, with the auction set to end on Saturday, June 11.
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The previous-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee is still in production, and it’s being sold as the 2022 Grand Cherokee WK.It’s sold alongside the new model, which is codenamed WL and comes in both two-row and three-row Grand Cherokee L models.The Grand Cherokee WK starts at $38,575, or $1545 less than the new model.When is a new car not actually new? When it’s a continuation model like the 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee WK. This practice of continuing to produce an outgoing generation when the new model is already on sale certainly isn’t a new idea, and Stellantis itself did this recently with the Ram 1500 Classic. And when the old one actually offers considerable savings like the Grand Cherokee WK does, it could be worth a look.

The old Grand Cherokee starts at $38,575 for the Laredo E trim level, which is $1545 less than the new two-row 2022 Grand Cherokee Laredo model’s base price of $40,120. Both have the same 3.6-liter V-6 engine, although the old WK model has a simplified lineup without the optional 5.7-liter V-8 that’s available in the new GC. The new model also offers a 4xe plug-in-hybrid model and a three-row Grand Cherokee L variant.There are fewer choices to make within the Grand Cherokee WK lineup, as there are only three trim levels. The Laredo X trim level starts at $42,275 with a bit more equipment, and the Limited model starts at $44,420, $2015 less than the new Limited. Black, white, red, and gray are also the only exterior color choices. Four-wheel drive is a $1925–$2020 option on the WK depending on trim level.Jeep won’t say how long it will keep the WK model in production, according to Cars.com, so we don’t know when it will eventually disappear from dealer lots.
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Cadillac has released more teaser images of the Celestiq show car.The Celestiq, which follows the Lyriq EV SUV, will be a luxury hatchback that’s meant to be the flagship of the brand’s new electric lineup.The concept version seen here will debut first, and a production car is slated to go on sale in 2025.Cadillac is building hype for its new electric flagship, a four-door luxury hatchback called the Celestiq that will carry a six-figure price tag and feature a high-tech interior. The latest teaser images show some interesting glimpses at the concept-car version of this upcoming model that’s slated to go on sale in 2025, including its large wheels, intricate taillights, and even some easter eggs.

The Celestiq is intended as a competitor to vehicles including the Tesla Model S and Mercedes-Benz EQS. It appears to have a long hood and a dash-to-axle ratio appropriate for a flagship sedan. An illuminated fender graphic appears to be a nod to Cadillac’s historic “flying goddess” hood ornament.

Cadillac

The L-shaped taillights are similar to the Lyriq’s and, based on earlier teasers, appear to flank the rear in a sort of flying buttress arrangement. We’re not sure how close the concept car will be to the production version, but if the Lyriq’s progression is any indication, the overall design isn’t likely to change much from show car to reality.

Cadillac

Cadillac

We’re not exactly sure what we’re looking at in the other two teaser images, which show elements of the Celestiq in extreme close-ups. We can see textured metal trim, and that a bolt is emblazoned with Cadillac’s “Standard of the World” slogan—although it’s unclear if this is meant to be a hidden detail, or if it is somewhere within plain view.Cadillac has previously said that the Celestiq will offer four-wheel steering, a dual-motor AWD powertrain, a transparent glass roof, and a huge display screen stretching across the width of the dashboard. It will use GM’s Ultium battery platform, with the battery pack possibly offering around 100.0-kWh of capacity. The Super Cruise driver-assistance feature will be offered as well.Look for more details to come as Cadillac prepares to reveal the concept version of the Cclestiq in the near future.
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